Alkhasawneh, E. (2013). Using VARK to assess changes in learning preferences in nursing students at a public university in Jordan: implications for teaching. Nurse Education Today 33, 1546-1549 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2012.12.017
This article discusses the various learning styles among nursing students at a University in Jordan. Using the VARK, researchers identified that environment, structure, emotionality, sociological and physiological factors can affect how students learn with the majority of students preferring kinesthetic style of learning, such as using simulation, going on field trips, and using case studies.
This article is relevant and valuable in that it discussed the importance of evaluating the learning preference of the students with consideration of factors that can influence learning such as classroom set up and how the information is presented. The article stresses the importance of educators being prepared to adapt to various learning style and modify their presentation, lecture to meet the learning preference and style of the student. However, this study is limited and bias because it only studies students in one region in Jordan and did not consider other ethnicities or cultures.
By consider all the factors that can affect learning, I will consider techniques, such as incorporating simulation and interactive videos to meet the need of kinesthetic learners when developing my final nursing education teaching proposal.
Gonzales, L. K., Glaser, D., Howland, L., Clark, M., Hutchins, S., Macauley, K., Close, J. F., Lipkin-Leveque, N., Reina-Failla, K., Brooks, R. & Ward, Jillian (2017). Assessing learning styles in graduate entry nursing students as a classroom research activity: a quantitative research study. Nurse Education Today 48, 55-61 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2016.09.016
This article examines the graduate entry nursing student’s predominant learning style as being concrete thinkers with four behavioral dimensions: being active, sensing, visual and sequential. (p. 59) An Index of Learning Styles was administered over a 5 year period to graduate nursing students in a southwestern university. Results showed that these students tended to learn through active participation, visual learning, sensing and sequentially.
This article is relevant and valuable because it identifies the learning style of the graduate nurse, and provides suggestions on how educators can create a learning environment where the student can actively engage in their learning. The predominant learning style suggests educators need to teach through simulation, discussion and application of what is learned. This article discussed how students can have difficulty in a learning environment when it does not offer concrete, detail-oriented date, visual information and physical demonstrations, such as simulation. Even though the study was only in one university, it does follow the National League of Nursing recommendation Core Competencies that learning study needs to be identifies and addressed to meet the needs of the student. (p. 59)
By considering who my audience is when writing nursing education teaching proposal, I will consider the learning style of the student and modify my curriculum in a way to meet the needs of all the students.
Hallin, K. (2014). Nursing students at a university-a study about learning style preference. Nurse Education Today 34, 1443-1449 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2014.04.001
The purpose of this article was to identify differences between learning style preference and personal characteristics. With the use of the PEPS questionnaire and a questionnaire to identify personal characteristics, it showed that the majority of nursing students were “flexible” in their learning style, with the strongest preference for a structured class and an authoritarian leadership by the instructor. A third of students were auditory, tactile and kinesthetic learners while 8% were visual. (p. 1445). The study also showed that women were more motivated than men and preferred a structured environment. The study was conducted in a Swedish rural university nursing program.
This article is relevant and valuable because it discusses how important it is for the instructor to keep the students interested in the topic. Through this study, it showed that learning styles can change over time and it is important for the educator to investigate the learning styles of their students prior to the class starting and establish a structured environment with clear goals and expectations that meet these learning styles. This study however is bias because the results cannot be applied to all nursing programs when it was given to nursing students in a small university in a rural community instead of being administered to several universities in other countries.
I cannot assume that my students learn the same way. When developing my teaching proposal, I will incorporate clear goals and expectations and develop stimulating lectures and presentations, changing my format of instruction every 30-40 minutes to keep my students interested and motivated to learn.
Lee, S., Kim, D. H. & Chae, S (2019). Self-directed learning and professional values of nursing students. Nurse Education in Practice 42, 1-5. http://doi.org/10.1016/nepr.2019.102647
This article examines the association between self-directed learning and the development of professional nursing values in nursing students. Through a self-rating scale in Korea, the results showed that self-directed learning has a direct effect on development of professional nursing values. It also showed that male nursing students were more likely to have higher levels of self-directed learning.
This article is relevant and valuable it showed that self-directed learning has a direct effect on the development of professional nursing values and is different from the traditional learning methods. There is also evidence that there is a difference in learning styles between male and female nurses, which is important when developing curriculum. However, this study is bias because it only included nursing students from three nursing schools is Seoul, Korea instead of being distributed to nursing programs in other countries. The results cannot be applied to all nursing programs when the focus was in one region of Korea.
When developing my teaching proposal I will consider the ratio of male to female students, keeping in mind that there are differences in their learning styles. Instead of developing my curriculum on traditional instructor led learning, I will create a curriculum that has active involvement of the students, allowing them to research the topic of discussion and find the answers to present to the class.
Lockie, N. M., Van Lanen, R. J. & McGannon, T. (2012) Educational implications of nursing students’ learning styles, success in chemistry, and supplemental instruction participation on national council licensure examination-registered nurse performance. Journal of Professional Nursing 29 (1). 49-58 http://dx/doi.org/10.1016/j.profnurs.2012.04.003
Through the use of purposive sampling, this study examined factors that are predictors of performance on the NCLEX-RN and found that Chemistry 108 grade, learning style and race were influential factors. The use of these predictors helped identify students who were at risk of failing the NCLEX-RN.
This article is relevant and valuable because it shows how GPA in pre- nursing courses and ACT/SAT scores, grades in the science and social science can predict success on the NCLEX-RN. It also showed how ethnicity was a significant factor in the risk of failing the NCLEX, with Hispanics scoring the highest, followed by Caucasian, African American and Asian students. It further discussed that the accommodator learning style had the most difficulty with passing the NCLEX-RN. However, the size of the sample was too small, studying students from only one institution who previously took Chemistry 108 and took the NCLEX-RN which cannot be applied to the general population of nursing students from different universities.
When writing my final nursing education proposal, I would like to include a survey, using the Kolb’s learning style instrument that students take prior to the start of the class in order to assess what the predominant learning style. I will also assess where each student is academically based on previous coursework and GPA and create a curriculum that meets the needs of each learning style. If I have accommodators, I can include additional review in preparation for the NCLEX-RN and simulation where they can visualize what they are learning.
Pettigrew, A. C., Dienger, M. J. & O’Brien King, M (2011). Nursing students today: who are they and what are their learning preferences. Journal of Professional Nursing 27 (4). 227-236. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.profnurs.2011.03.007
This article discussed the results of an online quantitative questionnaire given to baccalaureate and accelerated nursing students, comparing personal characteristics, life events, learning needs and preferred teaching methods. The results showed that accelerated students preferred self-directed learning, case studies and web based learning and had better critical thinking skills than the BSN students. The accelerated students also had higher passing rates in their nursing courses.
This article is relevant and valuable because accelerated nursing programs, especially online, are becoming more prevalent that the traditional BSN programs. This article provided insight in to the learning style of the accelerated nurse by showing that they were more motivated to learn, had better critical thinking skills and higher passing grades. It also showed that the accelerated nursing students were self-reliant and were able to apply and connect their learning to what was relevant
When developing my final nursing teaching proposal, I will consider my audience, from age to prior life experience and create a curriculum that will be stimulated, allowing for self-directed learning so that each student is motivated and eager to learn.
Tutticci, m., Coyer, F., Lewis, P. & Ryan, M. (2016). High-fidelity simulation descriptive analysis of student learning styles. Clinical Simulation in Nursing 12 (11), 511-521. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ecns.2016.07.008
Through a randomized controlled intervention study, various learning styles of third year nursing students were evaluated with results showing that high-fidelity simulation is valued, regardless of the learning style and is particularly effective for the millennials.
This article is relevant and valuable because it shows how simulation is an effective learning strategy for all learning styles and allows student to be active participants in their learning. This style of learning also increases the student satisfaction. This study was useful because it included several countries, some with non-English speaking background. It also showed that millennials may be able to apply theory to simulation easier than the older generations.
By knowing that simulation is an effective learning strategy, it will be something I will definitely incorporate into my final nursing teaching proposal. With the younger students, particularly with the millennials, I will include more student participation in their learning incorporating laboratory assignments, practical application projects and simulation case studies into the curriculum.